Born in Medan, North Sumatra, 25 December 1949, Sukanto does not come from a wealthy Chinese family. His father, Amin Tanoto, was a merchant who sold automotive components. As the oldest son, Sukanto was forced to quit high school at the age of 17 to help his father with his business. "My father's health declined and I had to help him out by working at the family business." Sukanto was once quoted as saying.

His willingness to help the family business to survive has made Sukanto a hard worker. At the age of 20, he expanded his business as a contractor in the state oil company Pertamina in Pangkalan Brandan, 70 kilometers from Medan. Moreover, in 1973, he expanded his trading company to wood-based products. As his business succeeded, he made a fortune as well as many friends among regional authorities, many of which were government and military officers.

A year later he established a plywood manufacturer named PT Raja Garuda Mas (RGM), which became the embryo of his conglomerate. The then President Soeharto inaugurated the first operations of RGM factory, reflecting Sukanto's influence among the elite cadres. "There is no doubt that facilities and friendship contributed a great deal to his success," Palgunadi Setyawan said.

He amassed a great fortune as his businesses multiplied. Corporate analyst from PT Cisi Raya Utama, Wilson Nababan, said Sukanto is a creative, dynamic and aggressive entrepreneur who wanted to be a major player in a short time. "From his origin in North Sumatra, sometimes his aggressiveness turned to arrogance, as he has many friends in high places," Nababan said. After his father died in 1974, Sukanto took over the management of the family business. However, he had only his business intuition to rely upon. To implement more modern business practices, he urged his younger brother Polar Yanto Tanoto who has an academic background, to help him.

The era of diversification began when Sukanto entered the agribusiness sector. In cooperation with Liem Sioe Liong's Salim Group, Sukanto set up PT Asian Agro Lestari to manage oil palm plantations and processing plants, which are also located in North Sumatra.

In April 1983, Sukanto established Inti Indorayon Utama. It built a plant to produce pulp and rayon fiber in Porsea, North Sumatra. Three years later the company began its operations and then expanded into producing acetate resin, filament and staple fiber. Indorayon went public in 1990.

As was the case of many big businesses during the Soeharto era, Sukanto had a bank to finance his multibillion dollar businesses. He acquired a small private bank named United City Bank in late 1987 from its previous owner James Semaun and then changed the name to Unibank in 1990. In 1997, Sukanto made the bank into a publicly listed company, with total assets of Rp1.9 trillion.

However, he had not abandoned his ambition to become the biggest player in the pulp and paper industry. Sukanto then built a multibillion pulp and paper industry called PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper. Beginning operations in 1995, by the year of 2000 it produced 935,269 tonnes of pulp and 275,341 tonnes of paper. To become a global player, Sukanto then consolidated his wood based industry by establishing a holding company named Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited or the APRIL Group. Based in Singapore, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1995. APRIL also became Sukanto's vehicle to expand his business to other countries.

In 1997, the company acquired half a pulp and paper company in Serawak, Malaysia. It also built two plants in Suzhou, China in cooperation with a company based in Finland called UPM-Kymmene.

Sukanto is internationally recognized for his entrepreneurship. The Government of Finland gave him an award for his contribution in the improvement of economic ties between Indonesia and Finland in 1997. Soeharto also awarded him with Upakarti, an award for Indonesian entrepreneurship.

Sukanto also expanded to the property and financial sectors. In his hometown of Medan, he set up PT Supra Uniland Utama which developed the Uni Plaza office building and the Thamrin Plaza shopping center. He also established an insurance company, PT Asuransi Eka Lloyd Jaya, and a securities house, PT Unisecurindo Abadi.

After his brother Polar Yanto killed in an airplane crash in September 1997, Sukanto consolidated his business group by establishing four APRIL holding companies in the pulp and paper industry, PEC Tech for the construction sector, Asian Agro for plantations, and RGM Indonesia for other portfolios. They are all covered by a top holding company, RGM International in Singapore. "Thus, it is no wonder that Sukanto now spends most of his time in Singapore," Palgunadi said.

LESSON 1
A junior manager, a senior manager and their boss are on their way to a meeting. On their way through a park, they come across a wonder lamp. They rub the lamp and a ghost appears. The ghost says, "Normally, one is granted three wishes but as y...[View]Terimakasih Ayah - UmumSuatu ketika seseorang yang sangat kaya mengajak anaknya mengunjungi sebuah
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